Yesterday I bought my mother two really nice outfits at Macy’s, convinced we’d have to have it all altered at $12.00 a seam, as we’ve had done before. She’s has osteoporosis and has lost 10” in height. I wrapped the gifts today in lovely, sweet wrapping paper with beautiful ribbons, added a card, and took the packages out to her so she doesn’t have to wait until Mother’s Day. At 92, how many more of these are you going to have?

She was tickled pink, as she’d say, little Southern woman that she is. And wonder of all wonders – every thing fit her as if she’d been the model for the clothes. Pink slacks and knit top, and also black slacks, black knit top with ivory white bobbles around the neck, and a lovely jacket in black & white. Even the jacket sleeves were perfect. How lucky can I get?

She asked me to help her find a navy blue pants suit, sometime this winter, she said, to wear to funerals there at the retirement home where she lives. It’s a frequent event there now, with so many older residents. Some have lived there for over 30 years, even though my mom is in the newer section.

When I saw the black outfit today at Macy’s, even though it’s a lightweight summer fabric, I knew it would be perfect. We’ll do the navy blue for winter, as she mentioned. Not many things you can buy for a 92 year old, and going out to eat is no longer much of a joy for her. Too expensive, too much salt, and a whole lot of effort with a walker and oxygen tank. She just came to our house for Easter Sunday and we spent time going over photos and videos of kids and grandkids. Dinner, dessert, half a glass of wine and she’s done. Ready to go home.

She’s invited me to brunch next Monday, May 9th, at Lilac terrace at 11 a.m. Now I’m wondering what I should wear. And I wonder what she’ll wear. It’s a girl thing. Mom & Daughter. It’s still fun.

I know we don’t have a whole lot of time left together, and the things we used to do, especially when she first moved out here 16 years ago, are too much trouble now – parks, and feeding the ducks and picnics with the grandkids when they were smaller. We even cooked together a bit, but not anymore. We used to work in the yard together, but don’t do that, either. We rarely sit on the patio together in the summer, as surely a bee will buzz by or a very slight breeze will kick up, and inside we go. “It’s too cold out here,” she’ll declare. I always remind her that we don’t live in Florida any more.

It isn’t fun having her to the house for dinner, because of the preparation, going to get her, bringing her home, making her comfy on the sofa while we finish up whatever we’re having for dinner, and some five minutes after dinner, she’s ready to go home. I take her library books and she says she doesn’t enjoy reading. I used to take her books on tape, but she didn’t like listening to them. She watches TV with the sound off and takes her hearing aid out to talk on the phone – go figure! And she’s never learned to knit or crochet, and if she knew how she’d tell me her fingers don’t work right anymore. And she won’t work on puzzles, and dislikes cards or other games. It’s easy to see why I feel like I hit a home run today with two complete outfits that look totally adorable on her, are the right size, and the pants lengths are perfect. Couldn’t be better. This was a Mother’s Day gift to me, as well.